Yehudit – five-string electric violin | Beth Snellings – cello
Recorded in concert at Studio 6, San Francisco, on August 15, 2004 by Karen Stackpole, Stray Recording except tracks 1, 2 and 9 recorded by John Hoy at Dancing Cat Studio, Mill Valley, CA on July 21, 2000. Mastered by Myles Boisen at the Headless Buddha Mastering Lab on October 29, 2004. Photography: Carol Pratt. Cover art by C.J. Reaven Borosque. Graphic design by Rent Romus
Tracklist: 1. Rhythm-A-Ning [2:13] 2. Take Five [3:22] 3. Since You Asked [6:04] 4. Memory Waltz [8:33] 5. Closer to the Sky [5:43] 6. Stolen Moments [5:24] 7. Somebody Else’s Blues [4:24] 8. Five and Dime Minus One [7:06] 9. Blackbird [4:52] 10. Grace [6:56]
A Very Unusual Jazz Duo
two classically trained and jazz savvy string players stretch the bounds of their instruments to create a unique approach to jazz standards and original compositions. Formed in the spring of 2000, Different Strokes has performed at venues around the Bay Area, including the Old First Church Concert Series, San Francisco Arts Festival, the SIMM series, the People in Plazas Series, the Canvas Gallery, the Dolores Park Café and the Citizen Cupcake Café (San Francisco), the Mill Valley Fall Arts Festival, the Bird’s Nest Jazz Series and the Voila Juice Bar and Café (Oakland), Rustico’s Restaurant and Caffe Trieste (Sausalito and Berkeley) as well as the Healdsburg Society for Music and Art. Different Strokes is also on the performance roster of Bread and Roses, Inc. The duo’s debut CD, “Different Strokes Live,” is available on the Edgetone label.
Jazz violinist Yehudit
(pronounced “yeah who DEET”) has made a place for herself in the forefront of the jazz mainstream, demonstrating that the electric violin, in her hands, is a convincing and innovative jazz instrument. She has headlined at Yoshi’s (Oakland), Lunaria (Los Angeles), La Ve Lee (Studio City), Linnaea’s Cafe (San Luis Obispo), the Dean Lesher Center for the Arts (Walnut Creek), the Fillmore Street Jazz Festival (San Francisco), the Union Street Art Fair (San Francisco), and other venues in the Bay Area and California. The artists she has appeared with include John Handy, Dan Hicks, Walter Savage, Denise Perrier, and Jules Broussard. In May of 2007, Yehudit resigned her long-time position with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra in order to devote her full energies to jazz performance and composition. “Yehudit,” her debut album, was released in 1997. Her second CD, “Valentine,” featuring jazz treatments of classic love songs, was released in 2001; her third solo album, “In the Zone,” was released in 2008.All are available through Edgetone Records.
Beth Snellings
cellist, has been performing in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than 20 years. Her experience spans such musically diverse contexts as symphony orchestras, musical theater, television, chamber music ensembles and jazz combos. Beth’s credits include performances at the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival, a European tour of “West Side Story”, the Austin Willacy Band and the San Francisco Composers Chamber Orchestra, as well as musical engagements for private and corporate events. She was also the Music Director of “Funky Fitness”, a TV show produced in San Francisco. Beth is a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the University of Arizona.
…mutual understanding and instinctive interactivity…wry imagination, vast abundance of technique and investment in the emotional underpinnings of much jazz…refreshing and certainly unconventional without sacrificing jazz’s leaps of logic and flights of fancy. – Bill Donaldson Jazz Improv Magazine
…the sound is superb. Yehudit’s electric violin has a fine resonance, and Snelling’s cello is clear, distinct and supple. – J. Worley Aiding & Abetting
…this duo rhapsodizes in perfect harmony on a most satisfying jazz string disc. – Greg Cahill, Strings Magazine
Clearly these women are secure in their musicianship and have no trouble sharing the spotlight. This is a CD that swings, and many will enjoy dropping it into their sets for a snazzy energy boost. – KFJC 89.7 FM
CD version (incl. shipment cost world-wide)